social assistance

Oct 30, 2018

A decade after the financial crisis of 2008, many Ontarians remain somewhat uncertain about the future, expressing concerns about job security and opportunities for economic mobility, and mixed views about their social safety net. This is the main finding from a new Mowat report analyzing our Portraits 2017 survey data.Read More

Oct 10, 2017

Canada’s employment insurance (EI) system is a major plank of the country’s social architecture. However, the system, now 75 years old, is failing to meet its original intent. EI was established to protect workers against income loss while temporarily out of work and to provide access to job opportunities through training. In order to meet those objectives today, EI needs major reforms. Indeed, the shortfalls that exist in 2017 will only be amplified as the employment landscape continues to change significantly in the decades ahead.Read More

Jun 27, 2017

A portable benefits scheme for all Canadian workers

Imagine it’s the year 2067.

Fifty years from now, what it means to work and have a career has changed entirely and Canada’s labour market is nearly unrecognizable. Innovation and investment have left the economy booming and labour productivity has hit a record high, but almost no one works in the once-standard nine-to-five form of employment.Read More

May 30, 2017

The case for social and economic rights in the Charter

With all the commotion around the Charter’s 35th birthday this year, you would be forgiven for thinking that human rights in Canada are a fait accompli. You would also be forgiven for, upon reading the words “human rights” just now, thinking first and foremost of the civil and political rights that our constitution explicitly sets out to define and protect. After all, most conversations around rights in Canada revolve around our civil and political liberties.Read More